The first new channel isn't so bad, I suppose. Slated to hit the console in December is the new "gift" channel which allows you to buy content with your own Wii points and give it to a registered friend—presumably, this feature will launch just in time for Christmas. Given that you could already buy someone a points card as a gift, this seems a little unnecessary... but I suppose if you have a friend that lives far away, then there's no better way.

Unfortunately, I can't find a suitable justification for the second channel: a TV guide channel. Users will be able to browse through the local television schedule to see what's on TV. You can't watch TV through the channel—no, only look at the schedules. This "feature" will be available in Spring 2008.

Billed as a console exclusively devoted to doing one thing well—playing games—the Wii has become a bastion of minor, useless features that serve no real purpose. Some of the channels have been great, like the Opera Internet Channel, but others just seem trite and tacked on.